Human Problems
by Dolphinbubble418
Summary: When San start to have feelings for Ashitaka she doesn't know how to deal with them, or what they are for that matter! Reviews appreciated, be them good or bad  :D
1. Issues

I take a deep breath of the cool morning air and rub the smooth edges of the dagger hanging from my neck.

*TWAK!*

I hear the sound of an arrow hitting its target and a smile spreads across my face as I run to find the source. Only one other person knew this area as well as I do and it was because I had shown them.

It's been almost three days since the last time I have seen him, and even though I would never admit it out loud, I missed him.

Almost two years ago he and the entire colony of humans started rebuilding Iron Town and it is almost completed. I still can't stand that woman, but now it's for an entirely different reason. Sure she had decided to make use of the rich soils now surrounding the old town, but instead of destroying the earth, it has grown to become a farming community for both crops and fishing. The so-called "foreigner's" ideas were openly accepted and he has helped this new town be reborn into a peaceful place where laughter and familial love is still present.

But now instead of taking from nature, she's taken directly from me. I wasn't too accepting of his feelings, but now…well…I shake my head to dislodge my current train of thought. Anyway, I still don't like that woman.

Back to the present I quietly and swiftly sneak around his practicing area and start to stalk him like a prowling wolf. I take in his standing form, legs giving him a strong foundation, broad shoulders toned from years of hard work, muscular arms, dark brown hair swept away from his sweaty brow; he had taken off his outer jacket and now stood in just his pants and blue arm tie under shirt. I stare as he draws a fresh arrow from his supply stabbed into the ground by his side, positions it on the string, takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes. As he draws the string back, I admire the way his muscular back ripples with strength. He exhales slowly, opens his closed eyes, and releases the arrow into his target almost twenty-five yards away.

I sneak further around his practicing ring, the years of living with the wolves giving me the silence I need to hunt my "prey." I smile to myself as I position myself so his back faces me and as quick as an eagle I pounce on him.

"Gotcha!" I laugh as he reflexively grabs me, stumbles, and rolls forward with me cradled in his arms.

"San." Ashitaka chuckles and rolls a little more so I am now lying flush with his body face-to-face. I can feel my own face start to warm in a blush and I scowl at him. He smiles and quickly kisses my nose.

"WAH! Don't do that!" I swat his chest and jump up quickly, in two seconds I am behind a tree ten feet away.

I peek out an eye and see him sitting up so he could lean comfortably onto his hands behind him. He cocks an eyebrow and gives me a soft crooked smile. My heart rate, still beating rapidly from his surprise smooch, starts to race even faster. Out of reflex I give a small grin back at him and blush.

"Stop being so human," I mumble at him.

"Come on San. You're human too. We are just like your wolf brothers, we express through words and touch. And I love you," Ashitaka says matter-of-factly.

I blush even more, for two years Ashitaka has been doing this, little kisses here and there, being such a courteous and kind human, sending me glances that send shivers up and down my spine for some unknown reasons. It had taken months after the forest spirit incident before I completely trusted him and felt at peace whenever I saw him. But once we reached that level of comfort, I didn't know how to react after that; I have never been with a human for this long and I felt in my gut that I was in way over my head with this guy.

"San?" Ashitaka's voice came from right in front of me startling me from my turmoil of thoughts. I lift my head up and find his eyes staring deeply into my own from only a couple inches away. Before my brain could comprehend that he had moved from his spot on the ground to where I was, one hand grasped my waist while the other gently gripped my chin and dragged me forward. Before I knew it his lips became a light pressure against my own and my eyes widened in surprise. My hands reflexively reach upward to his chest and gently push away.

I stare into his eyes in wonder, "What…what was that? What did you just do…?" one hand reaches up to touch my now tingling lips.

He grins handsomely and says, "That was our first kiss, did you like it?" I push his chest a little and his hands around my waist tighten.

"That was no kiss; the thingies you give me on the nose are kisses!" Ashitaka chuckles and his voice deeper than it had been two years ago reverberates between our bodies and I feel one of those shivers going up my spine. "It's one and the same, San. This one just happens to express my feelings better."

"Oh." With that I let my muscles relax and Ashitaka brings my body closer to his; I rest my palms against his practically bare chest which is still lightly coated in sweat from his morning exercises. I look up at his face and take in his handsome features.

He had grown since the first time I had seen him: he stood about 5' 11", had a strong manly jaw, deep soul-searching eyes, soft slightly chapped lips, and dark brown hair that begged to be finger combed.

As I search his face trying to find answers to questions boiling inside, I see the scar I had left on his face two years ago when I first met him. I slowly reach up and gently graze the pad of my right thumb against the one flaw on his face. I cup his cheek in my palm and gently smile at him; he grabs the hand against his face and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss into my palm.

"Ashitaka…I…" Suddenly we hear a wolf's howl and my ears perk up. I turn my head to find where it's coming from.

"San...What…" I press a finger to his lips to silence him and continue to listen. After a few moments I turn back to him with a look of concern.

"I have to go, something's wrong, I'm being called for. I'm sorry; I'll come find you later."

"Wait, San…!" I'm already gone in a whirl of leaves before he could finish his sentence.

_End Chapter 1_


	2. Problems

Hello. Sorry for the wait, but here is chapter two! I am doing my best to update all my stories so please stay tuned! Also, I realize that the first chapter is first person and in this one it's third...Meh...I think I like third person better XP sorry...Will change the first chapter to third soon.

Reviews are always welcomed (as are suggestions). Negative criticism is not appreciated...though I'd love if it was constructive! ^o^

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter 2: Ashitaka<p>

"Damn it!" Ashitaka hit the closest tree with his closed fist and growled in anger. "What the hell was I saying? I must have sounded like an idiot to her!" He hit the tree again before turning around to his now empty practice area.

With a huff of anger he glared down at his target waiting in the distance and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Damn it." Angrily he jerked his outer jacket up from the perch he had made in the tree near his starting point and threw it on. Cursing some more, he snatched up his quiver and jammed the arrows back into their home and once securely tying the belt back on to his jacket, he tried to take a deep calming breath. He raised his fingers to his lips and gave a long, piercing whistle.

The sound of hooves clacking against the ground came from behind him and he smiled as he turned to see Yakul dashing through the trees. He reached his hand out for Yakul to bump into as he slowed to a halt in front of him. "Hey bud. Sorry practice ran later than normal." He said as he rubbed his friends furry chin and scratched his muzzle gently.

"Come on, let's get going," with a running start Ashitaka grabbed Yakul's horn and hoisted himself onto his back.

Down the mountain, jumping from rock to rock, they made their way back to Iron Town. Though the name was more of a habit than a befitting name to the new village. Upon exiting the forest area Ashitaka drew Yakul to a halt and gazed across the water, smiling upon seeing the now rebuilt walls and towers of the new and improved town. Three large watch towers supported the high outer ring of the wall protecting many of the merchants and their families while the inner ring housed the rest of the towns people. There were three gate ways facing the roads from the north, the south, and a large dock area to the east where all the fishing boats were tied up.

"Good morning Ashitaka!" the young man glanced down to the waters edge and waved back to the boatman waiting for their return. "How was practice this morning? I heard that wolf howl, freaking scary…still can't get over that initial fear just yet, I guess," the older man said with a shudder.

Ashitaka chuckled and nodded, "Nnh, it had caused a lot of alarm and worry when you guys were still mining the mountain, it's bound to take time to get used to." He hopped down onto the ground and helped guide Yakul onto the boat's flat area. As the boatman pushed off from the shore, Ashitaka took in a deep breath of the clean fresh water air.

"So how is your little girlfriend?" Choking on that inhale of fresh air, Ashitaka turned surprised eyes to face the older man, his shock very apparent. "Haha! Don't gimme that look, young man! I know how it goes with you younglings!" He gave the younger man a saucy wink and the receiver could feel his tan face warm.

"Eh? I don't know what you are talking about..." He said sniffing, his arrogant air lost as he turned another shade darker. They shimmied up to the far shore to the sound of the old mans cackling laughter. Yakul and Ashitaka made their way up to the closed gates of the new-and-improved Iron Town.

"Ashitakaaaa!" With a glance upward, Ashitaka could see the ladies upon the wall waving frantically and smiling broadly. "How's the Wolf Girl?! We know you saw her this morning!" They "wolf" whistled loudly and when he sent them a smirk on an already pink face in return, the ladies lost it and laughed and cheered loudly. With a signal to the men minding the entrance, the heavy gates began to open. Yakul gave his own version of a laugh-snort too as they made their way through, nodding greetings to the men guarding the front.

As the pair made their trek through the town, everyone said or nodded their good mornings to them and Haru tossed Asitaka his morning bread. After inclining his head in thanks, Ashitaka lead Yakul down the main road.

Taking a bite of his freshly baked bread, Ashitaka looked over main street. He still couldn't get over the initial shock of walking through the front gates and seeing how different everything was. The stalls that used to house all the small shops and distributors with their rice now housed all sorts of goods; from the fresh fish of the day to pearls and glass pieces, made into beads, found at the bottom of the river bed; Suki was out in front of her stall selling the grains and vegetables that her father and brother were growing up on the hillside while her best friend, Yamato, sold his mothers basket ware and wheat mats in the next stall. Ashitaka, along with most of the village, knew that they had a thing for each other but had yet to make anything official. Their parents tried to help them along, sending one or the other over to the others house to drop off a basket of fruits or a bag of grains. But sadly, they just couldn't get their act together. 'They're still too young,' was something Ashitaka tended to hear a lot of when concerning those two, but he wished them the best of luck. They will be together in the end, he knew. Considering the look Suki just sent Yamato and the look she received in return, Ashitaka hoped it was sooner rather than later. Yakul nipped lightly at his sleeve snapping him out of his current thoughts. With a shake of his head, Ashitaka was brought back to the realities of his own romantic problems and continued on his way. "I seriously must have sounded like a complete imbecile this morning..." Yakul butted his head into his shoulder a couple times and Ashitaka smiled, petting his friends snout, "You know, you're right, I just have to move forward, I can't take it back now..." His smile slowly faded from his face and he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Dammit."

They finally reached the main cluster of buildings at the towns center. After leading Yakul to the small bag of grains he had forgotten and left out earlier that morning near the back door, Ashitaka entered the small side entrance nodding his greeting to the guard. Walking through the maze of passageways took a few weeks to master, but now Ashitaka was able to quickly weave the hallways confidently until he found himself in front of an open set of shoji. Inside Lady Eboshi waved him inside without even looking up from her paperwork. "Come in Ashitaka, I have been waiting for you. Tell me what you think about these new trading routes." Ashitaka made his way forward and grabbed the sheets from her hand. "I am unsure if I want to continue business with Lord Kurosawa. His last couple of shipments have been far less than what we had ordered. He has been swindling us of our goods for the past few weeks and I cannot stand it." Lady Eboshi gritted her teeth in annoyance. "If he thinks he can walk all over us because we are changing our goods and mindset, he has another thing coming!" She slammed her fist onto the tabletop, causing the sheets of parchment to shiver like leaves in the wind. With a huff she picked up her brush and continued to document that mornings income of fish and grains. Ashitaka stared at the woman. Who would have thought that she was able to take losing her arm in such stride and go about life like it was normal. Her left hand was steady and the brushstrokes sure; he could remember the many restless days after she had finally healed enough to be up and about. Training left handed after living her life as a right-handed swords woman had been difficult, as was relearning to write with her left. He shook his head to get his mind back to the present. _This woman is freaky in her resilience. _With a sigh Ashitaka took the side seat next to the desk and shuffled through the paper work he was given. A few minutes of companionable silence fell upon the pair as the sound of shifting paper and the light scratches of the brush filled the room. Tapping the papers back into order on the table top, Ashitaka nodded, "I think these routes are pretty good. It's a good idea to start up another route through the waterways to Lady Hiroshi's village. She seems like an excellent ally so it's important to make sure she gets her supplies on time and as fresh as possible." Ashitaka laid the paper back into a side basket at the edge of the desk. "Though I don't think that we should cut off all ties with Lord Kurosawa for the time being. He has gotten pretty strong in the past year and even though the power might be going to his head, it might be a bad idea to get on his bad side. Unfortunately, even though we don't produce anymore iron for weapons, the town over the mountain can only supply us with a limited amount of raw materials for our weapons at any time." Ashitaka scratched the back of his head. "It would be bad if a war started because of something as simple as stuttering trade routes. It'll all work out in the end. Lord Kurosawa needs our grains and mountain deer to survive during the winter. He can't afford to cut off ties with us either."

With a sigh, Lady Eboshi put down her brush and adjusted the one arm kimono back into place, it having shifted unnoticed during her furious rampage earlier. "Alright. I understand. Thanks Ashitaka, you really help me out at times like these. As much as Gonza likes to help, he really has no tack when it comes to politics and trading." She laughed a little, "I still remember when he tried to talk to that one tradesman from Evergreen who wanted to setup a trade route through our town." She shook her head in mirth, "It's really quite something that he made him cry without even meaning to. He has really bad social skills." Ashitaka smiled and nodded his agreement, remembering his own first meeting with Gonza at the lake side where he had been accused of being untrustworthy even after bringing back two survivors. "But you can't deny he is one of the best guards. He has singlehandedly upgraded the entire towns defenses. Even with fewer accesses to natural resources, we are still able to defend ourselves properly because of him."

Lady Eboshi flipped her hand nonchalantly, as if waving away a pesky fly, "No matter. Enough talk about all this rubbish. I need to get to a meeting with the ladies. Find something to occupy your time before we need to go over the goods supply." With that she stood and shook out her kimono bottoms and swept from the room. Ashitaka quirked an eyebrow and had a huge urge to roll his eyes. Only she would be able to still maintain such aloofness when talking about her most dedicated officer. Anyone would be able to tell that he was completely, helplessly, and utterly in love with her. But of course Lady Eboshi believed she was too good for him. Ashitaka really rolled his eyes this time. She was an idiot.

He stood and stretched his stiff shoulders and helped put all the papers back in order on the desk. Even though Lady Eboshi was such a stickler with organizing before, Ashitaka felt that it was her right arm that controlled all her order. And after losing it. Well...things went downhill in organizational skills.

After setting the supplies list and political documents into stacks on the right side of the desk, he made his way back to Yakul outside. Stepping out into the now blazing sunshine, Ashtiaka raised his arm to block out the glare. The town was now at full bustling power and it was time to get out. Given that he was raised in a small village, Ashitaka still had issues with large crowds and couldn't help the feeling of confinement and claustrophobia whenever the town was so active.

Yakul came up behind him and nibbled at his shoulder. Ashitaka turned and petted his fluffy chest and scratched behind his ears, "Yeah, let's go buddy." As they made their way through the crowds, Ashitaka heard his name being called. Turning towards the source he didn't see anyone until he was hit in the mid-drift by three bumps. With a glance down he smiled genuinely for the first time since entering the village and patted the three kids on the top of their heads. "Hey there guys. How are you this morning?" Yuuki, even with a few missing teeth, gave Ashitaka a huge smile while Tomo and Kei stepped back and identically gave grins while scratching the back of their heads. Ashitaka still couldn't get over the fact that even though those two weren't related, they still acted creepily similar. "Taka-nii, we were on our way to Haru-sans house to drop off these!" Yuuki held up her small bag of what looked like plums. "Yeah, we were given these from Suki-nee-chan and were told that if we saw you to give you two!" Tomo cried, excitedly bouncing up and down. Kei stood there grinning and nodding in agreement, "We were told _two_ specifically so you could go give one to your wolf girl!" Ashitaka's brow twitched but he smiled anyway. "Huh. Okay, give Suki-san my thanks." He took the offered plums and placed them gently in his side pouch. "Well, off you guys go. Be sure to stay out of trouble!" He finished with a yell as they scampered off to Haru's house. Yakul gave another laugh-snort and Ashitaka tweeked his friends ear playfully, "Oh, shut up."

After recrossing the river and taking the trail back into the woods, Ashitaka wondered where he'd find his so-called "girlfriend." He shuddered, that wasn't quite the label he wanted to use. Heck, he didn't even really want to have a label. San was her own person as was he. He didn't think they needed to be "called" anything. He loved her. And she...well...Ashitaka gave a sigh. She didn't really understand his feelings yet.

A rustling in the bushes to his right pulled him from his musing. With practiced ease he grabbed his bow and strung an arrow within seconds, aiming into the area he heard the noise. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Put that away, human." A growling voice reverberated through Ashitaka's body as he recognized the wolf stepping from the leaves. "Wolf-san, what are you doing here? It's too close to the town to be your normal hunting grounds." Ashitaka asked, releasing the tension of his bow string and lowering the weapon. "San's been injured. Come." Those four words had Ashitaka up on Yakul's back in a heartbeat. "Lead me there, hurry."

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><p>Sorry to cut it off here...Still having a bit of plot issues..._ BUT! They shall be solved and I will update soon!<p>

Thanks for reading ^0^


	3. Save her

NEW CHAPTER! *phew!* Trying to keep up to date is...meehhh..._ But it happened! And I shall get the next one up soon as well!

Enjoy! (And I don't own Princess Mononoke's characters...:( it's sad but true...)

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><p>They flew through the trees, Ashitaka urging Yakul to keep up with the swift moving wolf tail in front of them as they dodged branches and stones. "Hurry!" They came upon the same stone cave that Ashitaka had found himself in when he was hurt. With a leap off of the slowing Yakul, Ashitaka ran up the steep backdoor entry and hurried inside. He was greeted by San's other brother as lifted his head from where it had been resting alongside San's prone figure. "San!" Asitaka rushed forward and rested his hand on her face, feeling the dampness of sweat and the small shivers that wracked her body. "What's wrong? San! Talk to me!" He stared at her closed eyes watching them shift restlessly under her lids.<p>

"She was poisoned."

"What...?" Ashitaka glanced from brother to wolf brother before resting his gaze back on the girl. "How...?" "We were ambushed. We had been patrolling the eastern side of the mountain, to keep the humans out of the forests there, and my brother was attacked." The first wolf gently butted heads with the one leaning over San. "I just wanted to let San know where we were, to make sure that she was okay. But..." The smaller of the two wolves whined and licked San's face. "We didn't expect her to come so quickly. She burst through the trees and tried to fight off the humans. These humans were smarter than the others we've encountered. The had explosive traps set with poisoned daggers and blowing needles." He whined again as Ashitaka brushed a lock of hair from San's damp forehead. "We don't believe that these poisons were for us since we are gods. They set them up for her." The bigger of the two started to growl, "I don't know why they would attack her though. We don't know who they are or what their intentions were with incapacitating San."

Ashitaka scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Well, the first place to start would be with the weapons. Do you know what kind of poison it was? Did you see what she was hit with?" The larger wolf trotted over to a side wall, "I was about to tear all the humans, limb from limb, when I saw her go down." He bent down and pushed a broad flat leaf over to Ashitaka with his snout. "The poison was already affecting her motor control and she was starting to convulse, but she was still able to beg me not to hurt them all." He snorted in disgust. "I don't see how she can have any sympathy towards them. You must be rubbing off on her with your talk of the goodness in humans. This is one of the two needles that hit her." Ashitaka noticed the small shiny black needle that lay innocently upon the leaf resting before his right knee. It was about four inches long and had a few brightly colored bird feathers at the end. "The other just grazed her left forearm here," the wolf pointed it out, "While that one was stuck to her front collar bone, near her right shoulder."

Ashitaka turned and looked at the now swelling marks on her skin before he lifted the needle to his nose, sniffing it. Carefully, being sure to not poke himself with the tip, he touched the very side of his tongue to the side of the needle. As he spat out the poison, a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Hmm. I know this poison, thankfully...I came across it during one of the skirmish with a small group of soldiers from Lord Asano about a year ago. It's similar to the one that Jiko's men used." He lifted his sleeved arm and wiped his mouth. "Can you get me the water from Yakul's saddle and find me some of the minori plant? It's a small green leafed plant with orange flowers. It usually grows alongside the rocks near the riverbed. It'll help slow down the poison."

Ashitaka took off his outer jacket, folded it and used it as a pillow for San's head. "I will also need some of the water from the sacred grove as well as a few leaves and blossoms from the tameric tree." He gestured to explain the size. "It's a very small tree, you might consider it a bush, but you can tell it's the right one by the way it grows." Ashitaka drew the fur skins further up San's body, tucking the edges around her shivering form. Gesturing some more, he explained, "It grows in spirals, with tiny white flowers; the leaves have an oil that will help counteract the toxins, and the blossoms will ease the pain." The wolves nodded and on the way out, the smaller wolf bumped his face against Ashitaka's shoulder, "Please take care of San." And with that, one ran out the entrance Ashitaka had come through, out towards Yakul, and the other jumped out the mouth of the cave, heading towards the river.

"San...hold on. We will help you get through this." Ashitaka placed his dry hand against San's feverish forehead. With a groan she moved her hand further into his palm and one of the brothers came back with the water flask. "We will be right back." Ashitaka watched him follow his wolf brother out the mouth of the cave.

With a gentle tug, Ashitaka freed the mouth of the flask and helped lift San's torso a little to get her to drink. To his dismay the water just dripped from her slack lips, dampening the back of her hair before hitting the skins on the ground. "San, please drink some water. It will help cool you down. You need to stay hydrated. Come on." Ashitaka tried again but it ended with the same results. Lifting the flask to his own lips, he took a little water into his mouth and then firmly pressed his lips to San's, sealing their mouths together. With some gentle rubbing to her throat, Ashitaka breathed a sigh of relief as she swallowed the water. _Just like when we first met._ Ashitaka thought to himself as he gave her another gulp of water._ I think she hated me back then..._After a few more small swallows, Ashitaka wiped the excess liquid from San's lips with the pad of his thumb and then made sure his jacket cradled her head comfortably. Reaching into his hip pouch, he pulled out a small cloth and poured some water to dampen it, before he folded it into a rectangle and placing it gently on San's sweating brow.

A few minutes passed and Ashitaka took the cloth, rung it out into a small indent in the floor and replaced it with more water. "We have the plants!" Ashitaka turned towards the growl yell to see the wolves bound into the cave. _If circumstances were different_, he thought, _I think I would be laughing right about now_. Both brothers were panting, pink tongues peeking out slightly, grasping what looked like the entire bush and tree shoved in their massive jaws.

Ashitaka mentally face palmed himself, "Um...thank you very much, but I don't think I'll need all of that...but I guess it's better to have too much than not enough." With a quick glance to San's flushed face, he stood and made his way to the wolves. Grabbing a few leaves from the minori bush he brought them to the back of the cave where he found a small indented rock sitting on top of a ledge. After a quick search he found another smaller rock that he used to crush the bright green leaves. A few minutes later, after mushing and removing the leaf strings from the sludge, Ashitaka then opened his side pouch once more and removed his bright red bowl. He mixed the mush with the rest of the water, before he lifted the empty satchel, "I'm going to need some of the sacred water in this, please." The bigger of the two wolves moved forward, gently grabbing the water container in his front teeth, and nodded. As he bounded his way out once more, Ashitaka took the bowl in hand as he made his way back to San's prone form. "San, you need to drink this to help slow the poison from spreading."

The smaller of the wolves watched in keen interest as Ashitaka lifted San into a sitting position, tipped the bowl against his lips and fed her the way he had before. With gentle rubs to her slightly damp throat, Ashitaka again felt relief course through his veins as he felt her swallow. He patted her back a little as she gave a small cough but continued to feed her the medicine. As he laid her back down on the sleeping mat, Ashitaka let his posture slump a little and felt a little of the tension escape from his body. "That should make her a little more comfortable for now." He turned to the remaining wolf, "Now I just need the spirit water and the tameric-"

"Back!" Ashitaka startled as a breeze entered the cave. The brother was back, the water satchel, now bulging with water, dripped onto Ashitaka's thigh as the he stood over him, panting. "Thank you. That was quicker than I expected...but timing is of the essence." The wolf placed the water gently into Ashitaka's opened hand before moving to sit on the opposite side of San across from him. With a small smile, Ashitaka watched as the other wolf dragged the poor tree across the cave floor. "Thanks."

As he started to pluck leaves and flowers from the small tree he asked, "Can you get my saddlebag from Yakul? There's a root powder that will help the antidote move faster through-." He glanced up and before he could finish his sentence, the saddlebag was already sitting beside him. He grinned, "Thanks again." A little shuffling and Ashitaka had the small pouch in hand, pinching the powder into the red bowl he had just used. He placed the leaves and blossoms into the same stone he had used in preparing the minori mixture and began to crush them, creating a paste. Once he deemed it worthy, he tipped it into the bowl and added some of the spirit water; swishing it around as he leaned over San once more. He removed the wet cloth from her forehead and then took some of the antidote into his own mouth. As he lifted her and dipped towards San's mouth once more, a growl greeted him. With a glance upward, Ashitaka found himself face to face with a snout full of bared teeth. _It seems like older brother doesn't like this..._he thought, but because he had the watery substance in his mouth he couldn't speak. "Brother, he has to feed it to her like a mother, she cannot do it herself." The smaller wolf gently pushed his brother back, making him sit. "She needs to drink all of it." The elder wolf was still growling his disapproval but Ahitaka had to trust that he wouldn't find his head locked in the wolfs large jaws. Thanking any God that would listen to him, he finished his motion of force-feeding San the medicine without injury. Gulp after gulp San took the medicine and with each sip her shivers slowed and finally stopped. Placing the now empty bowl down onto the cave floor, Ashitaka wiped San's chin and replaced the furs around her shoulders. "She should be okay now. I'll have to feed her two more batches of the tameric solution to flush the poison from it's course, but she is no longer in critical condition. She just needs rest."

Both brothers came up to sniff, nudge and lick San's face to assure that she was alright. Ashitaka rose and walked around to a bushier side of the tameric tree to pick more leaves and blossoms. As he turned around, he was startled to find himself almost in the wolfs face. "Thank you." Ashitaka smiled at the bigger wolf and reached up to pat his large snout. "Please, do not thank me. I'm just glad I got here in time." He lowered his head a bit but looked thoughtfully into the large eyes staring at him. "I realize you may not consider me a part of your pack, but I wish for San to be my mate. Therefore I must help protect my family." Surprised by his use of the word "mate," Ashitaka blushed under the wolfs scrutiny. "Hm." Without another word, Ashitaka watched the wolf turn and leave the cave.

"Don't worry about him. He accepts you in his own way." Ashitaka turned to the other wolf in the cave as he came up to sit by his side with a grin, tongue hanging from his mouth like a puppy. "He's always been like that. Mother said he took after his father, a wolf of few words but a closet sweetheart." Ashitaka raised an eyebrow in humor. "Closet sweetheart..." he chuckled, "I can't even imagine."

Night had already fallen upon the mountain, the stars lit the sky with their twinkling, the kodama's gentle clinking the only sound, as it trailed in the cool breeze. It had been about two hours since Ashitaka had administered the last dose of the antidote and San had yet to wake up. Ashitaka scratched the back of his head in worry as he removed the cloth from her forehead, glad that at least her fever had broken finally. He knew it took at least a few hours for results to show after the last dosage, but he expected San to at least regain consciousness. _There's nothing I can do now but wait, _he thought. _Might as well try to get a little rest_. He stood up and stretched his aching muscles, trying to release the tension in his shoulders that had been sitting there for the past few hours. After placing all the materials near the back of the cave, he made his way back to San's sleeping form. Laying down beside her, he brushed some hair from her forehead, double checking that the fever hadn't returned. _Good night, San._

The moonlight came through the cave, sending small fingers of light dancing across the floor. With a light groan, San turned to roll away from an annoying beam that had decided to attack her face. Right into something solid. _Mmm...warm..._thinking it was one of her brothers, San snuggled closer, breathing deeply. The scent that reached her senses was not what she expected, _this isn't..._shocked out of her sleepy state, San tried to focus her blurry eyes on what was in front of her. She was greeted by a tanned patch of skin instead of the white fur she was expecting. _It's definitely human skin._

With a jerk she tried to push away from whoever was in front of her. Warm bands of what felt like steel wrapped around her, drawing her back towards the warmth. Her arms tensed ready to push once more when she felt her nose press into the skin in front of her again. Taking a tentative whiff to determine who her capturer was, San relaxed. With her senses coming back to her she knew this scent.

_Ashitaka._

Warm, comfortable, and feeling safe now that she knew who protected her, San let the darkness come back and claim her.

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><p>THANK GOODNESS SHE'S OKAY AND THAT ASHITAKA IS SO SMART! _<p>

I'm thinking that there needs to be another little hinting of romance in the next chapter...but that might just be me...O_O ;)


	4. More Questions

Sorry for the delay! I've been having serious writers block these past few weeks...it freaking sucks..._ But here's the next chapter, I hope you all like it!

ENJOY! ^_^ v

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><p><em> It's past noon<em>, thought Ashitaka, _if_ _this annoying beam of sun is any indication..._

He groaned as he slowly stretched his stiff arms and his spine realigned itself with a few cracks. As he lowered his arms, he accidentally brushed against something warm. Startled, his head jerked to see what he touched. Dark eyes settled upon San's sleeping form and Ashitaka felt a smile grace his lips.

Like a summer breeze, he skimmed his fingertips along her cheek, relishing in the heat and smell that embraced his senses. As he pulled his hand away, San mumbled something and tried to follow the retreating fingers, wanting to keep contact. Ashitaka grinned, and feeling devilish, leaned forward running his lips along San's jaw line and neck.

A soft sigh escaped her lips and she rolled onto her back, lifting her head ever-so slightly, exposing more of the skin on her neck for his exploration. As he nibbled and licked the skin he found gently, another sigh escaped the young woman, but this one sounded more like a giggle.

"Nii-san, that tickles..." she grumbled, turning her face away, trying not to smile. Ashitaka lifted an eyebrow in interest and came to a decision. _By the end of this, she will realize I am verrry different than her 'onii-san'..._

He nibbled on her left earlobe before skimming his tongue along the shell of it. A gentle breath followed the slick trail and San gave a shiver. "Nnnh..."

Ashitaka slowly ran his hands down San's sides, resting them against the hem of her shirt. As he paid homage to her collarbones, his roughened fingertips carefully started exploring the sleep warmed skin of her stomach. A particularly hard shiver ran up her spine and she arched her back, pushing his wandering hand harder against her belly. _Just like a little kitten_, Ashitaka chuckled, lowering his head to follow the path his hand just took. As his tongue dipped into her belly button, San giggled.

But a particularly hard nip followed by a leisurely lick attacked her senses and the giggle turned into a low groan. As the trail of kisses went higher, San's eyes fluttered a little. She awoke to sensations she was not accustomed to. Her breathing came in small gasps as she felt large palms ran up and down her sides, warming her skin further. Only one would be so bold as to touch her and not find himself bruised on the ground from her punch. Usually.

"A-Ashita-ka..."

Upon hearing her gasping his name, Ashitaka raised his shadowed eyes to meet her half lidded ones. "San..." he breathed her name against her stomach and he smiled as the muscles clenched. As he bent down once more to continue his path upwards, San was unsure of what was happening. Her mind was in a fog and her skin flushed a warm pink. "Wha...what are you doing...?"

Ashitaka gave another small nip and looked back up, "I'm showing you a different way of expressing love. Your brothers showed you how to love as a family, a pack. But I..." he gently sucked on the exposed skin, making another rose on her tanned skin, "I will show you how humans love each other."

San gave another shudder as Ashitaka slowly raised the hem of her shirt further up her body, a curve of her breast teasingly peeking from the bottom of the lifted shirt.

_GRRRR..._

The growl seemed to echo through the cave, like a horrible thunder storm. "ASHITAKA. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAN?!" Ashitaka froze in shock, slowly lifting his head to stare into the blazing red eyes that were now focused on him. San followed his lead and tilted her head back to stare at her brother. "Nii-san..."

Before either of them could move another muscle, Ashitaka found himself on his back, giant paws pressing his shoulders into the unforgiving floor, teeth dangerously close to his vulnerable neck. "I should rip your throat out." The wolf growled dangerously.

"Nii-san! Don't!" San, finally snapped out of her shock, scrambled up to her feet, rushing to her brother to draw him back. As she tugged on his fur, the massive jaws closed and turned to butt into San's side. "Are you alright? I will eat his heart out if he has hurt you!" San buried her face into the quivering fur and shook her head, "No, Ashitaka hasn't done anything wrong. Don't hurt him. Please."

Ashitaka sat up as the deep chest growls lowered in volume. "Be careful, human. If I catch you doing something to hurt San..." He growled openly, "I will be quick to deliver punishment." Ashitaka swallowed dryly and nodded, glancing over at the wolf brother sitting near the mouth of the cave. He wasn't growling, but his face showed his disapproval and promise to help his brother if punishment was needed.

"I love San...I apologize for doing something you didn't approve of, but this is how humans show their affection to each other. You are her brothers, but she is not a wolf." Ashitaka's head bowed a little before he raised his eyes to hold the piercing gaze in front of him.

A few more seconds of studying the young man, the wolf brother stopped his low growls, sat upright and gave a loud huff of annoyance. "Don't let me catch you again. If I do, I may not be able to control my jaws and I might _accidentally_ crush your head." As he turned tail, the smaller wolf brother gave a small bark of laughter. The small slip up rewarded him in a not so gentle nip to the skin at the back of his neck by the retreating wolf. The younger wolf whined and followed sullenly, tail devoid of its usual energy and barely grazing the inside of his back legs. Ashitaka and San were left alone in the cave.

A quick glance was shared between the two before San's face broke out in a brilliant red as she ducked her head. Pretending to be busy, she went about rearranging her shirt and ran a hand through her mane of hair. _It's grown a lot since I first met her..._Ashitaka thought as he watched the waist length hair be braided into a tight weave.

"San..." She froze, hand still posed to tie the end of the braid with some twine. With a gulp she turned to face Ashitaka. "...?"

"I'm sorry if I scared you. But I really do love you. I want to show you how humans express their love...but I understand that by living with your wolf family has caused you to learn what love is differently." He ran a hand through his hair and huffed a sigh. He shook his head, "I will always be by your side. And no matter how long it takes, I will help your human side grow." He smiled brightly, "I love you. For both your quirky wolf side and shy human one. "

San sat frozen as his words permeated through her mind. She turned to her task of tying her hair, back towards Ashitaka, but he saw her flush an even darker shade of pink. He stood and gently patted her head, "I'm going to go outside and talk with your brothers. Join us when you are ready." San watched his back as he left and she clenched her fist over her heart. _Why does my heart feel like it's about to come out of my chest? Am I sick?_

"Where exactly did the attack happen?"

Ashitaka sat on a large boulder that was lightly shadowed by an overhanging pine, the wolf brothers sprawled on other rocks a few feet away. When he had come out of the cave he was met with the vision of the smaller of the brothers laying on his back basking in the warm morning sun, tongue lolling from his mouth like a puppy. The other simply watched with an unamused look. He nearly busted a lung and a rib trying to suppress his laughter.

Now all business, they sat in the shade to discuss the issue at hand. "Like we mentioned before, we were patrolling the eastern ridges of the mountainside and were ambushed by a group of well organized men. They were dressed in dark clothes, perfect for hiding in shadows, the only color noticed was a strip of dark maroon crossing their backs. They were disguising their scent with the leaves and juices of a very pungent berry that populated the area. We aren't too familiar with the scent since it doesn't grow on this side of the mountain so we were surprised."

The elder brother growled in anger, "We should've been more aware. Especially in terrain we are not as familiar with. We didn't think that the humans would be so far away from their villages. But I can only venture a guess that they weren't from the area." The smaller wolf nodded in agreement. "They seemed like they had a member in their ranks who knew the area but they themselves were new. Their territory isn't anywhere near so how else would they have known to use that particular berry? It's stench is not as noticeable to humans as it is for us, nose-oriented hunters." A small sneeze followed his comment and he buried his nose into his paws. "I didn't see them until they had already sprung their nets and darts. Since we are gods the poison had no effect, but they also had some sort of small explosive that shot smaller needles outwards. Those hurt like hell even if the poison couldn't attack our bodies. Out of habit I called out to my brother and little sister. I wanted to warn them that these creatures were dangerous." Ashitaka watched and the large wolf started to growl, "Before we knew it, while dodging the explosions, San came bursting through the trees to engage with the enemy. They were ready for her."

The following silence was so absolute it seemed to cut the air.

Ashitaka turned towards the cave and watched San poke her head out of the cave further up the hill from their rocks. The larger wolf continued where his brother left off, "We did our best to protect her body as the explosions and darts came from every direction. We gnawed through the nets that came her way...but...we weren't quick enough when she dodged around to get close enough to who seemed to be the leader. He was engaged in battle with my brother."

The smaller wolf whimpered. "She had jumped from one of the trees aiming for his back but...a guard saw her before she got closer and shot his darts." The older wolf nodded and his brow furrowed in a wolfish way, "I was able to catch her before she fell and we made our escape. We almost didn't make it. They somehow were able to place all sorts of traps in our escape route and even with our speed it was a close call. They were very smart about their planning. It's quite annoying to think humans can actually plan so well."

Ashitaka grinned cheekily at the wolfs huff of annoyance before his expression turned serious once more. "But what could they want with San? Wouldn't it make more sense to try and capture a god instead of a human?" He scrunched his brow, "Even though it would probably turn into a disaster like with the great forest spirit, maybe not..." All three sat contemplating in silence until San's voice reached them, "I did hear one of the men tell another, 'we have the god child'...do you think it has something to do with it...?"

Three sets of eyes turned to stare at San as she wobbled her way over. When she leaned heavily against the rock Ashitaka sat on he reached down to help pull her up. "What do you think that means...?" The larger wolf growled, "It means I'll chew their heads off if they try it again!"

Ashitaka looked thoughtful, "What if...it means that they believe San holds a certain power that other humans don't possess...like a human-god...?" He looked up at the wolves, "Do you think that's possible?" The two wolves looked at each other before the younger one glanced back at the two humans, "There used to be a legend of a human who walked among the gods and who possessed a power to control the lesser ones..." He glanced at his brother for confirmation, "But it was only a myth. They can't think that San is the one in the legend."

"But that can't be right...but if they don't know I can't control the gods and only think I do because I am always with my brothers..." San thought out slowly, glancing around at the others, "I mean, I do wander the forest as one of her creatures, and maybe they believe that since I can communicate with gods, that I can control them...?"

"Does that mean they'll be coming back for you...?" Everyone turned to look at Ashitaka as he glanced off towards the eastern mountains.

"Let's hope not..."

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><p>Thanks for reading! I'll try to get my creative writing juices flowing more...-_-<p>

XD I hope you all like it so far! :)


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